Google, Yahoo get most RSS buzz in first half of 2005

An analysis of news consumption shows Google and Yahoo with the most attention for RSS (Really Simple Syndication) content, together commanding nearly 50% of reader interest during the first half of 2005, according to an analysis by ZDNet Research.

Microsoft, who recently announced that its upcoming Longhorn platform will include support for RSS, along with its Internet division, MSN, garnered 10% of interest, making it the leader among the tier-two buzz generators that also include Ask Jeeves (6%), Mozilla (5%), and Bloglines (5%)--see the chart. 

The news story that got the most attention over this period was, unsurprisingly, about monetizing RSS: RSS feeds attract venture dollars. Interest from venture capitalists, such as veteran Internet investors Marc Andreessen and Ron Conway, helped push RSS to the next level.  The article mainly focused on start-ups like Rojo, but also mentioned Google and Yahoo, which helped boost their visibility in our BT Trax tool. Other popular stories included the purchase of Bloglines by Ask Jeeves, Kanoodle’s bold move into pairing advertising with RSS, plus Google's, and MSN's addition of content feeds into its MyMSN pages.

RSS and similar formats like Atom, have spread like wildfire since the XML-based syndication technology was introduction in 1999, a time when it was better known as Rich Site Summary. Since then, feed aggregators and search engines emerged and innovation outstripped the original design goals for RSS, giving rise to podcasting and emerging corporate uses.